Belle Gunness
Serial murder is a thankfully rare occurrence, but not rare enough. Per the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) organization and categorization standards, in order to be classified as a serial killer, a person must have committed at least three homicides over a period of time. There are many different types of serial killers; those that kill for profit and those that kill for sexual gratification. Among the rarest of serial killers is the female serial murderer. Only three percent of all serial killers are female and those that choose to commit these crimes do so most often have financial gain as a motive. One of the most notorious female serial killers of all time was Belle Gunness who murdered not only a large number of affluent male suitors, but very likely also killed her own children and an unknown woman in order to fake her own death and escape…...
mlaWorks Cited:
Gibson, Dirk Cameron (2010). "Belle Gunness." Serial Killing for Profit: Multiple Murder for Money. Greenwood: Santa Barbara, CA. 35-51
idgeway is known to have specifically targeted prostitutes, with whom he had a love-hate attitude towards, and runaways, whose disappearances would not raise too many concerns. idgeway was convicted of killing 48 women, but confessed to killing 71 in the Washington state region. idgeway would strangle his victims from behind, transitioning from manual to ligature strangulation after he became worried that defensive wounds from his victims would raise suspicion. His victims were killed at his home, in his truck, or in a secluded area. idgeway is known to have contaminated his crime scenes in order to deter police and many times transported his victims across state lines. Though the exact dates of idgeway's criminal activities are unknown, he actively killed during the 1980s and 1990s, with most of his crimes occurring between 1982 and 1984 (Bell, 2011). Though idgeway was initially a suspect in the Green iver killings in…...
mlaReference List:
Arrigo, B. 2006. Criminal Behavior: A Systems Approach. Upper Saddle Creek: Pearson
Education.
Bell, R. 2011. "Green River Killer: River of Death." TruTV. Retrieved from
Douglas, J. & Mark Olshaker. 1999. The Anatomy of Motive. New York: A Lisa Drew
Sociology and Violent Behavior
The sociological theories of violent behavior focus in assessing the interaction of and individual their with social environment to yield violent behaviors. The key aspects considered in the theories are personality, the learning process, information processing, intelligence and subsequent behavior (aggressive acts). This paper presents a discussion of the theories associated with violent behaviors and serial murder.
Theories of Violent Behavior
The labeling theory argues that the society plays a significant role in influencing an individual's conceptualization of deviance. Once the society labels and individual as deviant and reinforces the deviant label on a person by way of shunning them out of society, the individual accept the label. Since the society has already labeled the acts and the individual as deviant, the individual will have no reason to disprove the view of many. The labeling influences the individual's self-concept and subsequently drives them deeper into more deviant behaviors and…...
mlaReferences
Fonagy, P. (2003). Towards a developmental understanding of violence. The British Journal of Psychiatry. The Journal of Mental Science, 183, 190-192.
Myers, W. C., Bukhanovskiy, A., Justen, E., Morton, R. J., Tilley, J., Adams, K., . . . Hazelwood, R. R. (2008). The relationship between serial sexual murder and autoerotic asphyxiation. Forensic Science International, 176(3), 187-195.
Investigating serial murders requires both a proactive and a reactive approach. Proactive methods are generally designed to prevent future crimes from occurring by taking action now on known variables. Reactive approaches include tactics and techniques used when police respond to crimes that have already occurred. Both proactive and reactive approaches are needed when addressing the problem of serial murder. Proactive methods used for serial murder are similar to tactics used for broader crime prevention, such as increased police visibility and presence throughout the neighborhood. Big data helps police improve the efficacy of proactive methods, by helping law enforcement identify patterns of the serial murderer’s behavior or patterns of victimization. When specific geographic areas of concern have been identified, patrols can then target those areas, helping the police department allocate resources wisely while also preventing crime using data-driven methods. To be as effective as possible in preventing future crimes, the police patrols…...
mlaReferences
Department of Justice (2015). Police discretion with young offenders. Hall, E. (n.d.). Criminology and Justice. http://criminologyjust.blogspot.ca/2011/05/investigation-into-serial-murder.html#.WqAnrJPwYWoMorton, R.J. (n.d.). Serial murder. https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder“Proactive Policing,” (2015). Regina Police. http://reginapolice.ca/2015/05/proactive-policing/http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/yj-jj/discre/org/styles.html
Serial Killers and the Media:
How the Media Affects the Investigation and Public Perception of Serial Killers
Serial killers are one of the most widely covered criminal types in the media, even though the majority of criminals do not fit this profile. Often the psychology and methods of serial killers are sensationalized in the media. Serial killers have also figured prominently as popular characters in film and cinema. This raises some problematic questions about the coverage of serial killers, however. First, is too much attention given to them, versus other, less cinematic crimes? Secondly, does the media attention fuel the desire within some potential perpetrators to commit crimes?
Of course, the idea that coverage of violent crimes can lead to the perpetuation of violence is not a new one: As noted by Conti (2015) “….what the scientific literature has found—almost universally—is that there is a very small but statistically significant correlation between consumption…...
The year 1998 brought the highest number of murdered young girls yet and authorities arrested another man for those crimes.
Press reports from the summer of 1999 typically offered body counts between 180 and 190, sometimes coupled with a reminder that "at least 95 women" were still missing. Chihuahua authorities claimed that FBI agents had endorsed their conviction of Abdel Sharif, while El Paso G-men indignantly denied it (MUDES of the YOUNG WOMEN of JUAEZ, MEXICO (http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/ciudad_juarez/)."
At that point they brought in a serial killer forensics expert who told the authorities she believed there were a minimum of three serial killers involved and that the area had simply become a safe place for serial killers to carry out their murder fantasies.
By 2001 authorities in the area were desperate and had a rumored 50 suspects in custody hoping to stop the carnage but it continued even as the suspects were being charged,…...
mlaReferences
Murders
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/ciudad_juarez/
Another body found in violent Mexican border city that is site or rape-murders." Associated Press (November 20, 2001).
Brooks, Karen. "Juarez fears serial killer is still on the loose." Fort Worth Star-Telegram (November 21, 2001).
Criminology researchers usually draw on multiple sociological theories for understanding crime and offenders. Certain elements of serial-killing research continue to be a subject of speculation and exploration, on account of the numerous preconceptions and myths surrounding the crime. The significance of establishing a theoretic basis to explain sociological factors proves crucial to distinguishing between fact and fiction (Hickey, 2013).
Social Structure Theory
This class of theories concentrates on the socioeconomic status of a person and suggests that the poor perpetrate more offenses owing to their struggle to achieve social or monetary success. They are, particularly owing to their subcultural, racial, or ethnic status, restricted in several ways from lawfully attaining the great “American Dream\". Thus, they resort to deviant techniques to succeed. Structural theories provide convincing justifications for numerous offenses, with the exception of serial killing. Normally, serial killers lack financial or social motivation, and aren’t members of any specific ethnic/racial minority.…...
Thus, the justice system must clearly distinguish between mental illness and insanity. Psychiatrists and other professionals can aid judge and jury in making the distinction. Reserving the insanity plea for clear instances of psychotic breaks and other reasonable diagnoses would help prosecutors effectively try their cases.
Even if not deemed legally insane, a serial killer is certainly morally and ethnically insane. For all reasonable, non-judicial purposes, a serial killer is as insane as a human being can be. If someone who kills indiscriminately, systematically, and often with pleasure is not insane then who is? The lack of compassion for other human beings and the lack of emotion that characterizes the sociopath is one of the most chilling phenomenon of criminology. In the courtroom, a serial killer will not meet the definition of insanity even if labeled psychopathic. Therefore the definition of insanity depends on the context....
The first two murders that follow the suffocation of rs. Eagleton seem clearly connected -- one at a hospital, another at a concert. But then follows other killings accompanied by symbols that seem deliberate, like a bus driver who crashes his bus to get a transplant for his daughter. Also, despite this apparent link through symbols, Seldom points out that there is always an 'uncertainty principle,' even in mathematics. Seldom points to Gdel's Theorem which much like Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle in science, suggests that despite all appearances, there is always the element of the unpredictable -- for example, the landlady could have died by natural causes. Additionally, the mathematical murder could be unsolvable, although conveniently during the narrative the once 'unsolvable' Fermat's Last Theorem is solved, acting as inspiration to Seldom and his unnamed sidekick....
mlaMatinez, Guillermo. The Oxford Murders. MacAdam/Cage, 2005.
The Oxford Murders is the story of an unnamed Argentinean mathematician studying at Oxford. One day, while accompanied by his landlady's friend, the don and professor of mathematics Arthur Seldom, the two find Mrs. Eagleton murdered on her sofa. The only clue, other than the fact that the old woman worked on the Enigma Code during World War II, is a circle left by the killer in a mysterious note sent to Seldom, along with the lines, "the first in a series." Soon it becomes clear there is apparently 'serial' killing occurring, on a very literal level. Seldom receives a note, accompanied by a symbol, every time a murder takes place. Seldom fears that the killer is effectively parodying his mathematical work on theories of patterns or series in mathematics. One of Seldom's areas of expertise is Wittgenstein's theories about series and the possibilities for deviation in numerical series.
The solution to the murder seems to revolve around finding out the pattern of these 'series' of shapes that accompanies the series of murders. The first two murders that follow the suffocation of Mrs. Eagleton seem clearly connected -- one at a hospital, another at a concert. But then follows other killings accompanied by symbols that seem deliberate, like a bus driver who crashes his bus to get a transplant for his daughter. Also, despite this apparent link through symbols, Seldom points out that there is always an 'uncertainty principle,' even in mathematics. Seldom points to Gdel's Theorem which much like Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle in science, suggests that despite all appearances, there is always the element of the unpredictable -- for example, the landlady could have died by natural causes. Additionally, the mathematical murder could be unsolvable, although conveniently during the narrative the once 'unsolvable' Fermat's Last Theorem is solved, acting as inspiration to Seldom and his unnamed sidekick.
Analysis of Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock directed a movie called Psycho in 1960. The movie is a horror laced with lots of psychological suspense. The movie storyline is developed from Psycho, a novel written by Robert Block and published in 1959. The novel, on its part, drew inspiration from Ed Gein murders. Psycho has been widely regarded as the first-ever slasher film. Although it got mixed reviews at the onset, it is now considered one of the greatest films produced by Hitchcock, and indeed one of the greatest films of all time.
Indeed, Antony Perkins, the Ed Gein (Norman Bates), was rated the second-best movie villain of all time by the American Film Institute (Gorshin, 2014). According to common parlance, Norman Bates suffers from Disassociate Identity Disorder ( DID), which was earlier known as multiple personality disorder. This view is interesting in all its weight and breadth. It is also a compelling psychological…...
mlaReferences
Bergstrom, A. (2012). Playing the viewer like an organ: Norman Bates as the protagonist of Alfred Hitchcock\\\\'s Psycho. Retrieved from Dawar, Z. (2018). Diagnosis of Norman Bates: Bates motel and Psycho. Retrieved from https://reelrundown.com/tv/Diagnosis-of-Norman-Bates-Bates-Motel-and-Psycho Dollar, S. (2018). Psycho\\\\'s shower scene: How Hitchcock upped the terror—and fooled the censors. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/psycho-shower-scene-hitchcock-tricks-fooled-censors Freud, S. (1919). The Uncanny. Retrieved from http://wwwrohan.sdsu.edu/~amtower/uncanny.html.Gorshin, M. (2014). Analysis of Psycho. Retrieved from https://mawrgorshin.com/2014/11/28/analysis-of-psycho/ Jong, L. (2016). Representation of the Serial Killer in United States Popular Culture: Evolution of the Hunter-Hero Narrative. [MA Thesis, Radboud University Nijmegen]. Retrieved from https://theses.ubn.ru.nl/bitstream/handle/Kavka, M. (2002). The Gothic on Screen. In: HOGLE, J. (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction. Cambridge University Press.Kennedy, M. (2020). Psycho\\\\'s sequels made Norman Bates the hero (& it worked). Retrieved from https://screenrant.com/psycho-movie-sequels-norman-bates-hero-good-worked/https://3brothersfilm.com/
The perpetrator may even have a documented prior criminal history involving physical or sexual assaults of victims with some of the same characteristics as the current series of victims. More likely than not, the perpetrator is a product of a home in which children witnessed physical abuse of their mother and/or experienced physical abuse themselves.
The fact that all but one victim shows evidence that the force used in the murder far exceeded that necessary to achieve death by strangulation suggests that the perpetrator possesses a significant amount of anger, even rage, at someone represented by his victims. The fact that all but one of the victims suffered a broken neck suggests that the perpetrator is more likely under the age of 50 than older, and more likely either a large or physically robust individual or both. uggested Investigatory Focus:
Based on preliminary analysis of the behavioral evidence, it is suggested that…...
mlaSources Consulted
Gerrig, R., Zimbardo, P. (2005) Psychology and Life 17th Edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Innes, B. (2007) Serial Killers: The Stories of History's Most Evil Murderers. London: Quercas.
Schmalleger, F. (2001) Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century. Hoboken, NJ: Prentice Hall
The Gambino crime family began to fall apart after the head of its founder died. It had split into two factions. This book centers on the more ruthless Brooklyn faction. Away from the scrutiny of the Manhattan police, for many years it could do what it wished. Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci spare no details in detailing the cruel jokes these men told to one another while they engaged in their killing spree, nor the callousness of their attitudes towards their victims. The reason that these criminals were so effective at getting rid of bodies was because they were willing to do the unthinkable -- maim the corpses, and bury them piecemeal to avoid discovery. Some of the maiming they engaged in was gruesome without even a practical point to the violence. One of Roy's cousins was called Dracula, because he specialized in training the blood from the bodies.
The…...
mlaWorks Cited
Mustain, Gene & Jerry Capeci. Murder Machine. New York: Onyx, 1993.
That victim survived. A month later, Bundy broke into Lynda Ann Healy's room, beat her unconscious, dressed her, kidnapped her, and then took her to a location where he killed her and sexually assaulted her. Several other young women fell victim to Bundy while he was in Washington. Sometimes he faked an injury, specifically a broken arm or a broken leg, to get the women close enough to him to kidnap. When Bundy moved to Utah for law school in 1974, the disappearances in Washington stopped and a string of kidnappings, rapes and murders began in Idaho, Utah, and Colorado. While he used a variety of means to kill the women, most of them were bludgeoned to death.
In August 1975, Bundy was arrested when a police officer noticed several disturbing items during a routine traffic stop. They could not get sufficient evidence to charge him, but began building a…...
Environmental determinism relies on the importance of the physical environment around the individual in relation to that individual's behavior. Applying the ideas of environmental determinism to serial murder means that one would believe the physical environment of a murderer would be the most influential factor which determines them to kill. However; this more generalized theory does not fully account for why a murderer would commit mass or multiple murders. ather, like many other generalized theories attempting to explain seemingly senseless violence, it just poses a theory for why individuals would be driven to kill in the first place.
The trauma-control model, formulated by Hickey, gives a more in depth look at why individuals would turn from murderers to serial murderers. According to this model, individuals can harbor intense feelings of depression and rejection. As these feelings are amplified throughout life, that individual's tendency to engage in abnormal behaviors would increase.…...
mlaReferences
Egger, Steven. Serial Murder: An Illusive Phenomenon. Praeger Publishers. 1990.
Purcell, Catherine E., Arrigo, Bruce a. The Psychology of Lust Murder: Paraphernalia,
Sexual Killing, and Serial Homicide. 1st ed. Academic Press. 2006.
Dennis ader (BTK Killer)
Dennis ader who is commonly as the BTK killer was born in Kansas in 1945 and was the first born of four siblings born to William and Dorothea ader. He is renowned as an American serial killer who carried out the murder of 10 individuals in Sedgwick County between 1974 and 1991 around Wichita, Kansas. Dennis ader's nickname as BTK killer or BTK strangler is derived from the method he used in killing his victims. In essence, ader used bind, torture and kill to execute his serial murders, which resulted in his nickname as BTK killer. Dennis ader derived great joy and pleasure from killing to an extent that he wanted his nickname on the list of the worst serial killers across the globe. Similar to most depraved serial killers, the BTK killer or BTK strangler covered his demon behind an ordinary human's facade.
Dennis ader's Early Life
Dennis…...
mlaReferences
Anderson, P. (2014, October 7). Dennis Rader -- aka the 'BTK Killer' -- Wanted His Nickname
on the List of the World's Worst Serial Killers. Herald Sun. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/dennis-rader-aka-the-btk-killer-wanted-his-nickname-on-the-list-of-the-worlds-worst-serial-killers/story-fni0ffnk-1227082442236?nk=3951385106e690efb9c641a717d17e8a
Blanco, J.I. (n.d.). Dennis Lynn Rader. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/rader-dennis.htm
"Dennis Rader Biography." (n.d.). Biography. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/dennis-rader-241487#synopsis
Serial killers are a topic that has fascinated people, beginning before the term was even coined. They have been romanticized in pop culture, but their crimes seem to be rooted in a personality disorder that keeps them from empathizing with others. They kill in a variety of ways and, when left unchecked, the number of people that they can kill can get into the 100s.
Some subtopics to consider when writing about serial killers for your essay topic are:
Captivating Titles for a Global John Wayne Gacy Exposé
Chilling Explorations
Behind the Mask of a Clown: The Horrific Crimes of John Wayne Gacy
Unveiling the Dark Depths: John Wayne Gacy's Sinister Legacy
The Gacy Tapes: A Spine-Tingling Descent into Evil
Into the Abyss: The Twisted World of John Wayne Gacy
Playground of Horror: Exposing the True Nature of John Wayne Gacy
Intriguing Inquiries
The Gacy Enigma: Unraveling the Mind of a Serial Killer
Gacy's Victims: A Lost Tapestry of Lives
The Gacy Investigation: A Quest for Justice Amidst Tragedy
The Gacy Effect: How One Man Cast a Shadow Over Society
Lessons....
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